Midnight in St Louis
by ClaudiaRain
Summary: The team counts down the minutes until midnight, but Hardison can't let go of what happened, two years earlier, in St. Louis. Nate/Parker


**Title:** Midnight in St. Louis

**Disclaimer:** Nothing belongs to me and I make no profit from this. It's just for fun.

**Spoilers:** None. N/S and H/P don't exist.

**Pairing:** Nate/Parker

**Author's note:** I wrote this in July, but waited to post it. I figure there are a handful of people who might enjoy reading it, unless they have all moved on, in which case at least I enjoyed it. ;)

**XXXXXX**

_127 minutes to midnight_

"This is the worst party ever," Parker announced.

"We've been here for 35 seconds," Hardison reminded her.

"Still," she sighed, "I can already tell."

"Why are we here again?" Eliot asked, and he sounded almost as dejected as Parker.

"Because," Nate said sternly, "we were invited. Is it really that hard to be civil to other people for one night?"

Off of Parker's look and Eliot rolling his eyes, Nate sighed. "I guess for some of you, it is. At least try, alright? Jake and Nancy wanted to thank us for our help and I said we'd be here." He was referring to their last job, where they'd – well it was complicated, and Sophie summed it up best by saying they'd righted another injustice in the world.

"You're looking at this the wrong way," Sophie informed them – or rather the three of them who had been complaining about being roped into this. "It's a night off where we can attend a party and actually enjoy it. Nothing illegal involved, and especially no theft," this was directed at Parker, who immediately looked affronted.

"I never approved those terms," she protested. "And you cannot make me agree to something so…so…unreasonable!"

"Promise me, Parker," Nate ordered, stepping in front of her as she was about to slip away.

"I promise," she crossed her arms.

"That doesn't sound genuine."

"I wonder why?"

"Because it's not! Now promise."

"Fine," she relented, but only so Nate wouldn't feel he had to watch her all night, or worse, have someone else do it, like Hardison.

"Fine what?"

"Fine, I _promise_," she said, irritated, even as she tried to think of other ways around Nate's order. She didn't specify what she was promising, now did she?

"And Nate," Sophie added, "don't look for potential clients tonight. I want to relax!"

Nate didn't appear to pay her much attention as he absently nodded, and the five of them went their separate ways.

XXXXXX

_111 minutes to midnight_

"Worst party ever," Parker said, sulking, for the 15th time that night. She and Hardison were at one of many small tables situated around the room for guests to eat and talk. She spun the umbrella from her drink and thought about all the fun things she could do with it. Pick a simple lock (not ideal but she had no doubt she could do it). Stab somebody…her eyes automatically shifted to Hardison.

Hardison stared through the bottom of his (sadly) empty glass at her and tried desperately to think up something to occupy her for the next hour. She'd already been following him around for ten minutes and it was seriously killing his mood.

"Parker, would you go find Sophie?"

"Is she missing? Maybe she left the party. I hope for her sake that she did; then I know she's having more fun than us," Parker said glancing around. "I mean look at these people they're so...law-abiding."

"She wanted to see you," Hardison lied. "She has something for you to do."

"But I've been with you since we got here and Sophie hasn't talked to you once."

"I met her eyes across the room and I could just tell. Me and Sophie, we have a…vibe. Now go."

"You're trying to get rid of me," she accused. She didn't think he'd be trying that if he knew what she'd been contemplating doing with the plastic umbrella.

"Me? Never!" He swore, lying so horribly that even she picked up on it.

"Uh huh, how is my presence not livening up this dull party for you?"

"Maybe because you keep giving me slightly crazed looks. If I didn't know better I'd think you were going to stab me with that!" He pointed at the drink umbrella in her hand. She quickly dropped it.

"I knew I should have come up with an excuse to miss this party. Next time Nate asks me to do something, I'm leaving the country," Parker swore.

Hardison looked at her with disbelief. "We both know that'll never happen, and we both know why. Nate has the ultimate leverage over you. And whose fault is that?"

She knew from his look that he was implying it was pretty much _her _fault. "It's not like I had a choice!" She reminded him.

He laughed at her. "You always had a choice; you still do. And hey, I warned you, remember? Let's go on a trip down memory lane, shall we? It was two years ago, to the day, in St. Louis – I remember it was a cold winter, freezing, in fact. I was in a Motel 6, enjoying my much earned sleep, when I was awakened by the shrill ringing of –"

She wasn't in the mood for Hardison's dramatic retelling, and truthfully, she wasn't half as upset as she was pretending. "I think I'll go find Sophie after all."

He smiled at her. "I knew that would drive you away."

"Don't think I won't be back, if only to make the rest of your night as miserable as mine," she warned, before going off to find the other woman.

He thanked God that had worked. "Good luck finding me," he muttered once she was gone, and started looking for places to hide.

XXXXXX

_102 minutes to midnight_

It took her a few minutes before she found Sophie because there were so many people at the party. A few hundred at least, and it made her shudder just thinking about it. She was fine with crowds when she had a specific job to perform, but to be expected to mingle, and God forbid, attempt to _socialize_? Who could ever consider that fun?

"Sophie, about time I found you!" Parker exclaimed, grabbing her arm. "I kept seeing you through the crowd but every time I called your name you'd disappear again. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to get away from me."

"Oh, Parker…right, um, I never heard you?" Sophie said, cursing that she hadn't gotten away fast enough this time. Her mind raced with ideas on how to keep Parker occupied. Really, Nate should have thought of this ahead of time; he knew how Parker was. In fact, his failure irked Sophie so much that she quickly devised a way to make this _his _problem.

"Hardison said you wanted to talk to me," Parker told her, as Sophie stared at her, utterly confused. "I _knew _he was lying."

Sophie made a note to get revenge on him later (if Parker didn't beat her to it). "No, he…wasn't lying. I was thinking, you need to keep an eye on Nate."

Parker was slightly suspicious. "Why?"

"Because, you know how he is. Hardison, Eliot, and I were talking before the party, and we're worried he'll end up finding another job to take on and all we want to do is have a fun, carefree evening. That won't happen if Nate is forcing us to listen to some poor soul's depressing story."

Parker wasn't very happy and Sophie immediately knew she'd gone about things the wrong way. "You want me to make sure he doesn't try to _help _anyone tonight?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Sophie protested. "It's…you know how he is. I thought maybe you could distract him."

Parker still wasn't too keen on the idea. In fact, she was getting more upset by the minute. Sophie desperately needed to come up with another reason before the woman stormed away, probably to go tell Nate what she'd just said.

"Parker," she grabbed the blonde's arm and pulled her over to a quieter corner. "You know, more than anyone, how hard Nate works every single day. He never takes time to simply enjoy himself! Don't you think he deserves a night off, time to relax? He's earned it. You can't argue with that."

Parker relaxed a bit. "I know," she admitted, thinking Nate was more than deserving of time to simply take a break.

"Don't you think he can take one night off?"

"He should take longer than that," Parker said adamantly, as Sophie silently cheered.

"Right, but if he keeps working himself like he does, he's going to burn out! He needs a night off now and then. And he won't get it unless someone makes sure that he does."

Parker nodded, still upset, but now with herself that she hadn't realized this before. "Alright, I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Parker," Sophie said, grinning. She couldn't believe she'd killed two birds with one stone – not only would Nate find it nearly impossible to take on a job tonight, but Parker would have a purpose to keep her occupied, and hopefully, not so miserable.

Right before she left, Parker turned to point at Sophie. "This is still a terrible party, you can't deny it."

"Actually, I think things are looking up," Sophie said, as she went back to looking for the man she was about to corner before Parker interrupted her.

XXXXXX

_89 minutes to midnight_

"Hi, Nate," she said from beside him, and how did he fail to see her approaching?

"Parker, can't you ever appear like a normal person? I've told you it's creepy how you can do that."

"Which is all the more reason to do it," she replied, trying hard for casual. "What are you up to?"

He turned to her. Something was going on. He knew that look, and that tone, and that sense of purpose. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she said, trying to sound innocent. "Why do you always think the worst of me?"

"Not the worst," he said thoughtfully. "Just…an ulterior motive. I dare you to try and get something by me."

She knew he'd regret that challenge (she'd make sure of it). "I'm here simply for the pleasure of your company," she insisted.

"Sure you are. I'll pretend to believe you." They both surveyed the dance floor when the music switched from upbeat to slow and guests began pairing off. "Come dance with me."

"I should have known the risks of coming over here," she complained, putting up a nominal struggle when he pulled her out among the other couples.

"What have you been doing?" He asked. "I've barely seen you since we got here."

"Oh you know, different things. Been here and there." When he only looked at her sternly, she sighed. "Nothing bad, I promise. I've been on my best behavior."

"When it's _your_ best behavior, I'm often suspect," he whispered in her ear.

"I'm glad I can still keep you guessing," she said cheerfully. "On a completely unrelated note, I happened to be wandering the building and I saw the Jenkins' have recently installed a brand new home safe in their bedroom, it's a –"

"No."

"You didn't hear me out," she cried.

"No matter the question, the answer is no."

"Come on, Nate," she cajoled. "I only want to time myself and see how long it takes to break into. Is that really an unreasonable request?"

"Parker, why do I always have to talk you out of doing things that will get you arrested?"

"That supposes the police could actually catch me," she pointed out. "Besides, I didn't say I was going to _steal _anything. Is that what you thought?" She sounded offended.

"No," he relented. "I didn't think that. But if they catch you breaking into it, what are they going to think?"

"I'd tell them the truth," Parker said, as if it were obvious. "And I'd recommend a better home safe. While we're at it, a better security system, too."

"The answer's still no," he said, smiling when she glared at him.

She would have kept arguing, but she wasn't that invested. Besides, something else was on her mind. "Know what Hardison was talking about earlier? St. Louis."

"Ah, St. Louis," Nate said thoughtfully. "Do you know how many times I've heard _Hardison's _version of St. Louis?"

"Probably as many as me," Parker said, shaking her head. "I was wondering if you still remembered," she hesitated, then continued, "because you haven't mentioned it in, well, a long time."

"I'll never forget," he told her. "Were you hoping I would? Because I seem to recall learning something about you that –"

"Okay, okay!" She said quickly. "You remember, I get it."

"I also recall there was a much better party two years ago for New Year's than what's going on here."

She smiled at him, her first true smile of the night. "I definitely agree with that. _This _is the worst party I've ever been to."

"Then I really need to bring you to more parties," he told her lightly.

XXXXXX

_72 minutes to midnight_

"Parker!" Hardison grabbed her mid-stride and pulled her after him out to a terrace that overlooked the gardens, and woods beyond; they were on the second story. She shivered at the sudden cold. "Just the woman we wanted to see."

She looked from him to Eliot. "After avoiding me for most of this awful party, and now dragging me outdoors in 35 degree weather, you better have a damn good reason."

"Eliot and I both like that woman," he pointed behind Parker to an attractive brunette just inside the doors. "But we can't decide who gets her. Who would you choose?"

"You already know who I'd choose," she said simply, leaning against the railing behind her.

"Just settle the bet, Parker," Hardison said impatiently, "between _me and Eliot_, who would it be?"

Parker was confused. "Who would _I_ choose between the two of you? Or if I were _her_, who would I choose?"

Now Hardison appeared as confused as she was.

"I told you it was a bad idea to ask her," Eliot said exasperated. "She's _Parker_! Besides, Hardison, you know that if it's a head to head competition, you have no shot. Concede defeat right now and I won't ridicule you about this later."

"Who says she wants either one of you?" Parker broke in. "I mean, if it were between both of you, I'd still pick, oh…that guy." She pointed at the nearest random partygoer simply to try and infuriate them more.

To that, Eliot and Hardison only laughed. "Have you seen us?" Hardison asked.

"Yeah, and you heard my answer," Parker said, as both of them sobered instantly.

"Obviously this is too hard for you," Hardison relented. "We'll make it easier." He pulled out a quarter and told Parker to call it – if she was right, he got to approach the woman. If she was wrong, Eliot got a shot.

"You two are pathetic, but I'll call it." She grabbed the coin and called heads, then flipped it over the railing.

XXXXXX

_60 minutes to midnight_

She'd been good for an hour since they'd gotten there, an _hour_! It was physically impossible to restrain herself anymore, especially with the temptation being laid before her.

"I think you have lovely eyes," Greg told her, leaning closer. "And your hair's very golden in this light."

"Well, it _is _blonde," she said, wondering why he was stating facts. He appeared confused, though. Was that supposed to be a compliment? "I mean…thanks?"

His frown instantly vanished. "You're charming," Greg said.

"Why thank you," she said. "People don't tell me that enough for some reason. Let me ask you a question, what do you think of this party?"

"Dull," he said promptly. "Incredibly so."

Parker nodded, finally someone got it. "I agree, I hate it. But I was practically forced to come, by a person who shall remain unnamed," she turned to look across the room, where Nate was talking to a woman she didn't recognize.

"I, for one, am very grateful to that unnamed person," Greg told her, kissing her hand.

"Ever the gentleman," Parker said. "Not many of those left anymore."

"Would you like to dance?" He didn't wait for an answer, simply led her out to the floor.

"I should warn you," she began, "I'm –"

"I don't care what you are," he promised.

Fine then, if anyone asked, she could truthfully say she'd tried to be honest with him. She smiled and eagerly slid closer to him, and closer, until – she was able to get his wallet with relative ease. She felt some guilt but it quickly vanished when the song ended and Greg said he was going to get her another drink – she hadn't finished the first one he'd gotten her. Oh well.

While he was gone she flipped through his wallet. 42 years old, library card, $100 in cash. He was as boring as everyone else at this party.

"Hello Parker," Sophie said, appearing at her shoulder, "what do you have there?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, moving the wallet behind her back, "and who is _that_?" She gestured past Sophie to a few feet beyond where a tall, handsome man was waiting for her at the bar.

Easily distracted, that was Sophie. "That's Marcello," Sophie sighed dreamily. "He's Italian."

"Realllly?" Parker drew out the word to imply she had an interest in the subject, but truly, she was open for the soonest escape.

Sophie started going on about how perfect this Marcello character was, until she realized mid-sentence that Parker wasn't doing what she'd been ordered to do. "Parker! Where is Nate?"

"I have no idea," Parker said quickly, averting her gaze so Sophie wouldn't see that she was lying. She knew right where he was, over in the northeast corner of the room, talking to the red-head.

"Parker!" Sophie cried, "Was what I asked of you that hard?"

"Yes, it was!" Parker said, "I mean come on, shadow Nate all evening? That's unnecessary. I already talked to him about not trying to find our next job this evening, and he told me he wouldn't. That's good enough for me. I'm not worried about him, but if you're that concerned, why don't _you_ go follow him around?"

"I would do it, but I'd rather do Marcello!"

Parker raised her eyebrows and Sophie said hastily, "That didn't come out right. Though I suppose it's pretty much accurate…"

Parker glanced at the man in question. She couldn't blame Sophie…he was almost movie star handsome. Which made her wonder why Sophie was wasting time with her when she could be working on seducing him.

"You needed something to do," Sophie said, as if reading her mind. "Besides, I thought that in addition to helping Nate take a night off, it would keep you away from doing anything illegal – which you already promised, by the way." She didn't outright say it, but they both knew Parker had technically made a promise to Nate. The fact that she'd gone and stolen anyways made Parker feel worse.

"Fine, I'll go see what he's doing," Parker sighed.

"Have fun!" Sophie, having heard what she wanted, returned to Marcello's side.

Parker thought about returning Greg's wallet, but when she scanned the crowd for him, he was talking to another woman. Fine then, she'd keep it.

XXXXXX

_49 minutes to midnight_

"Nate," Parker said by means of introduction as she joined him and the woman he'd been talking to for about a half hour. She threaded her arm through his and eyed the other woman with suspicion. Maybe she shouldn't have believed Nate when he told her earlier he wouldn't be looking for future jobs tonight.

"Parker, nice of you to join us," he turned to the woman in front of them. "Parker, this is Linda. Linda, this is –"

"A business associate," Parker interrupted, holding out her hand to shake Linda's.

"Nice to meet you," Linda said.

"I had some business to take care of," Parker told Nate blithely, watching the other woman, whose eyes flickered with something unidentifiable as she looked between the two of them.

"Did Sophie send you over here?"

"What makes you think that?" Parker asked, even as they both glanced across the room to where Sophie was smiling and waving at them.

Linda smiled at them – too brightly in Parker's opinion.

"Nate and I were talking about a problem I've been having and he thinks he can help me out."

"Imagine that!" Parker feigned shock. "Nate thinking he can help. What's the problem?"

She listened as Linda started talking about a fraudulent real estate investment, but Parker really didn't see how their team could help her.

Parker cut her off. "That's entertaining, but what's the real problem?"

Linda folded her arms and gave Nate a disapproving look. "That _is _my real problem."

"But that's a matter for the police. We're not police. Therefore, if you don't have a _real _–"

"Parker!" Nate interrupted, clapping his hands. "Gather the team."

"What?" Parker was startled. "You aren't serious. Sophie's going to kill me. They're all going to kill me! I was supposed to keep you out of these situations."

"Parker, please."

"I would _love _to," she said, in a clipped tone that conveyed the exact opposite of her words. Just when she'd thought the party was bad enough…she would gather the others like he asked, but she was already contemplating ways to get back at him later.

XXXXXX

_36 minutes to midnight_

"You're dead, Parker. Dead, dead, dead." Hardison repeated the word with every step he took, as Parker ignored him, a skill she'd gotten extremely good at in the past few years.

"Lay off, Hardison," Eliot said. "In fact, you should be thanking Parker for saving you from certain humiliation."

"What! Ramona was into me. _Very _into me. Did you see how devastated she was when Parker practically ripped me out of her arms?"

"What version of events was this? The imaginary one playing out in your head?" Eliot asked.

"If you want to blame someone for this, blame Nate for taking you away from your dream woman," Parker told Hardison.

"And whose fault is that?" Hardison's voice was pitching higher with each word. "You were supposed to be keeping him away from these things for the night. How long did we ask of you, Parker? Less than an hour? And you couldn't even do _that_ which is why I still say, if not for you, Ramona and I would be wrapped up in each other at this very moment –"

"Now, Parker, you'll be getting a thank you card from Ramona for saving her from that situation," Eliot smirked, and stopped short when Hardison moved to hit him, which meant (unfortunately for Hardison) that he shoved Parker instead. Equally unfortunate, they'd just approached Nate, which meant that when he pushed her, it was Nate that stopped her fall – and Hardison was on the receiving end of two looks of death instead of one.

Parker shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and then turned back to face him. "Enjoy the final half hour of the year Hardison, because you're not going to see another one."

"Accident, it was an accident, I swear!" He ducked behind Eliot.

"What is going on?" Nate asked, then turned to Parker. "Is it _that _hard to get everyone in one place?"

"Actually, yes it is."

Hardison tried to defend himself. "I was in love, Nate, until Parker took me away from the woman of my dreams. And now she's probably off with some other guy, getting ready to kiss him at midnight. While I'll be here. With all of _you_." He sounded quite unhappy at this last part, then he brightened at a sudden thought. "Unless…hey Parker, who are you kissing at midnight?"

"Who do you think, Hardison?"

"Man, I just had a flashback to St. Louis," Eliot started laughing. "Hardison, remember how drunk you were on New Year's? And you tried to kiss Parker at midnight? That was classic."

"You want to talk about St. Louis?" Hardison snapped, "Oh, I'll _talk _about St. Louis! It was a freezing winter, I was at Motel 6, enjoying–"

"Your much earned sleep, when a phone call from the front desk woke you up," Nate interrupted. "We've all heard your version of the story enough to repeat it by heart."

"It's a story that deserves to be told," Hardison insisted, but seeing he was about to be mocked, he tried to change the subject. "Where's Sophie?"

"I tried," Parker said, "but she wouldn't come with me. She started talking about how I had completely failed at keeping Nate from taking on a job for one evening and she wasn't leaving Marcello."

"Who's Marcello?" Eliot asked, as Hardison started mumbling to himself that he should have ignored Parker, too.

"Marcello's a bastard!" Sophie exclaimed as she came up to them, having overheard Eliot's question. "I went to get him a drink and I came back and he was with this – this – tramp! He told me he was sorry, but he'd met someone else. In the five minutes I was gone! At least I think that's what he said. He doesn't speak very good English." She downed the last of her drink and motioned for a nearby waiter to get her another.

"Sorry about that, Sophie," Nate said. "You really should know by now that any man you're attracted to is probably a jerk."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Tell me about it."

Before Nate could decide if he was insulted or not, Parker spoke up. "See, Sophie? Now you must agree that this party is terrible!"

"You're right, it's wretched. Or maybe it's men that are wretched. I don't care, to hell with all of it," Sophie cried.

"Why did you want to see us, anyways?" Hardison asked Nate, the only one of them who seemed to remember that he'd wanted to talk to them in the first place.

"Oh, that," he smiled with the barest hint of evil. "I only wanted us to have a toast before the New Year."

"I thought you wanted to have a business meeting," Eliot said, confused. "We've been giving Parker hell about it!"

"Oh, have you?" He shrugged, as if it were of no consequence.

Parker stared at him in astonishment. "What about Linda?"

"I suggested she contact the police," he said. When she narrowed her eyes, he added, "Did I give you the wrong impression before?"

"You did that on purpose. Don't think I'm letting you get away with this," she warned.

"I'm never falling in love again," Sophie said bitterly as she finished off her drink. "Look at him over there, laughing it up with that whore!" She pointed a short distance away to where the former love of her life and another woman were toasting to something.

"That's Ramona," Hardison gasped. "Your Italian boyfriend stole _my _perfect woman!"

"Hardly," Sophie said, outraged, "more like your tramp girlfriend stole _my _dream man!"

"Hey, hey!" Nate said, trying to stop their fight before it could really get going,. "Either you could continue your fight, or you could realize that I wanted us to toast the New Year together. As a team."

Sophie and Hardison looked grudgingly at each other before shrugging in acquiescence.

"It does sound nice," Sophie said reluctantly.

"I do like toasting," Hardison admitted.

They all grabbed champagne flutes which had been lined up on the bar.

"To friends," Nate said, holding up his glass.

"And family," Sophie added, smiling at Parker. They clinked their glasses together and drank.

"That was nice," Eliot said, looking at his empty champagne glass. A few moments of silence descended, and then he added, "There's still twenty-five minutes until midnight. Now we can spend it together or try and find someone attractive to kiss."

"Good plan!" Hardison said enthusiastically, ditching his glass on the bar and leaving. Eliot followed and Sophie made an excuse about how she had to find someone at least as attractive as Marcello to kiss at midnight so that her self-esteem wouldn't be miserably low for the New Year.

"Twenty-five minutes," Parker said thoughtfully. "That's enough time to pick a safe or –"

"Go return the wallet you stole," Nate interrupted.

She registered that with barely contained surprise. "How did you know?"

"I'll never reveal my methods," he told her, but she suspected he'd been keeping a closer eye on her than she realized.

She rolled her eyes, but he could tell she was far from angry. "Fine, I'll try to find Greg."

"See you at midnight," he said, right before she vanished into the crowd.

XXXXXX

_4 minutes to midnight_

"Why Nate, are you counting the time until midnight alone?" Parker asked.

"I was," he said, "but apparently not anymore."

"Where are the others?" She scanned the crowd, but she'd seen no sign of their team for at least ten minutes.

"I imagine they're still trying to find people to ring in the New Year with," he informed her.

"What do you say?" Parker asked him. "Want to follow them? Find someone to be with at midnight?"

Nate regarded her solemnly. "I'm already with someone."

"Sure you want to settle for me?" She asked slowly.

"You are _far _from settling," he told her.

She glanced at her phone. "Two minutes left. Now I'm sure you agree with me that this is the worst party we've ever been to?"

Nate turned to fully face her. "I don't agree. I can't think of anyone else I'd want to ring in the New Year with." When he spoke, it was with such honesty that she was rattled. How could he still do that to her?

There was too much she wanted to say, but she wouldn't have time before the countdown. "Less than a minute left. In case you want to reconsider."

He merely watched her, and she wondered what he was thinking. She stopped wondering when he leaned in and kissed her, and kept kissing her, which meant they never saw the official moment when the clock turned to midnight and the New Year began.

"You made me miss it," she whispered, breathing deeply when he finally pulled away. She dimly registered the clapping and cheering of people around them as they celebrated the start of another year.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so," he replied. "Though what better way could you have found to start the New Year?"

She could only laugh. "You're so full of yourself. Not that I'd expect anything less," she added, kissing him again.

"I love you," he said, once they broke apart. "You have no idea how much."

She smiled at his words, though it slowly faded as she studied his face. "I have some idea," she argued. "Though I must admit, after two years of marriage, I still find it surprising that you haven't gotten sick of me yet."

"Quite the opposite," he said, "for some reason I find you more fascinating every day."

"Has New Year's brought out your sentimental side?" She grinned. "I love you, too," she quietly added, pulling her husband closer and finding herself thankful, yet again, that out of all the people in the world, she'd found probably the only one who could put up with her – and still insist he wanted to do that forever. "Happy anniversary."

"Tell me you figured out, during some part of the evening, why I insisted you come tonight?"

"I had my doubts at first," she admitted, "when you didn't mention anything. But not anymore."

"I couldn't ring in the New Year without you," he confirmed, "no matter how much you may despise these parties."

"Are you two talking about St. Louis?" Hardison asked, managing to finagle himself and the girl he was dancing with so they were next to them. "Let me tell you about St. Louis! And how I was woken from a sound sleep to hear, to my complete shock, that two of my friends who hadn't even told anyone they were dating, wanted to get married, and I was expected to –"

"We get it, Hardison, we owed you," Parker said. "But we've paid you back in at least ten different ways. Are you ever going to let it go?"

He pretended to think about that. "No, I don't think I am."

"That's hardly fair, because I could bring up several things from that night I'm sure you don't want to remember," Parker warned.

"You wouldn't, not in front of Kelsey," Hardison argued, nodding subtly at the woman next to him.

"Oh, I might," Parker told him.

"You're cruel," Hardison complained, then turned to his dance partner. "Hey, baby, look at the other side of the room, it's much less crowded. Let's go hang out over there!" He shot a glare at Nate and Parker before dragging the woman away, while she was still demanding details about St. Louis.

Nate shook his head, and turned back to Parker. "Since you hated this party so much, let's stay home next year. Or we could always host our own. Though by now you must think _any _future party will beat this one, right?"

"I don't know," she said, the light in her eyes only slightly mischievous. She pulled on the lapels of his jacket. "Who said this party was that bad?"

**XXXXXX**

New Year's Eve already! I hope next year is happy and healthy for everyone


End file.
